FAITHFULLY PRAY

Dan. 6:10  But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem.  He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to God. NLT

      Daniel did not let his circumstances dictate his faith.  He knew that things weren’t going to be easy for him if he were to continue being bold about his faith, but that did not matter to him.  He unashamedly did what he always did, he prayed openly and he didn’t care what others thought about it.  His allegiance was to God, he needed time alone with God, and he made sure that he got that time. 

      When he prayed, Daniel often gave thanks.  He understood that he was who he was because of God’s favor on him.  He appreciated the life he lived and made sure that God knew of his appreciation.  He was not concerned what others thought; he was determined to acknowledge God’s hand on his life, both past and present.  We can learn much from Daniel’s heart.

       I wonder how bold we are about acknowledging God’s hand on our lives and unashamedly giving Him thanks.  So many of us do not take the time to offer the Lord our thanks for His blessings of life.  I see so many professing Christians who do not pause to give thanks in public before a meal.  I hear so many of us who take far more credit than we deserve for the blessings of our lives.  I hear so many prayers that are geared to what we want from God rather than thanks for what we have received.  A lack of gratitude for God’s blessings is a sin. 

      God deserves our gratitude.  We don’t deserve to be children of God.  We don’t deserve any of the blessings He bestows on us.  It is shameful the way that we often act around those who do not share our faith.  We should never hide our faith.  We should not care what others may think.  It is far more important what God thinks than it is man.  Dare to be a Daniel.  Let others see your faith at work in you and hear your words of gratitude unto the Lord.

       Don’t let your circumstances dictate whether you pray or not.  Instead, let the natural flow of your love for the Lord and gratitude for His role in your life lead you to pray.  Don’t stifle the natural response of the soul to worship God regardless of the circumstances you are in. 

FINDING NO FAULT

Dan. 6:4  The other administrators and princes began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling his affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize.  He was faithful and honest and always responsible.  NLT

       It should be our goal to be like Daniel.  Daniel was so righteous that others could find nothing in him to criticize.  He was faithful and honest and always responsible.  Being that kind of a person is not an easy task.  First of all, it requires an unshakable devotion to God.  Daniel was not caught up in the world, nor did he have worldly aspirations.  He just wanted to live a life that was pleasing to God. 

       Faithfulness is a great quality to find in people.  Faithful people are trustworthy.  You can always count on them to be who they really are.  They can be counted on to act within their character.  There are no surprises when you are dealing with faithful people; what you see is what you get.  When a person is right with God, it is a pleasure to be around them.  When a person is not right with God, you can expect from them sinful acts, attitudes, and talk.

       One of the things that set Daniel apart from others was his honesty.  He could always be counted on to treat others fairly.  If he was wrong, he did not try to hide it.  He admitted it when he messed up and took full responsibility for his actions.  He was not too proud to admit his shortcomings to himself or others.  He was a good man; no one could find fault with him.

       Do you dare to be a Daniel?  It should be our goal to live such lives of integrity that no one can find fault with us.  Now, no one can be perfect.  No one can be so good that others will never find fault with us.  But, we can strive to be the best Christlike person we can be.  When we are living in Christ, others should be able to count on us to do what is right, they should always be able to say that we are honest in our dealings, and they should be able to know that we take responsibility for our behavior and attitudes. 

FAILED THE TEST

Dan. 5:27  Tekel means “weighed”---you have been weighed on the balances and have failed the test.  NLT

       This verse first spoke to me very early in my Christian walk.  The Lord spoke to me about how I was doing in my faith walk.  I had to take a serious look at myself and examine whether or not I was living a life that pleased the Lord or was I failing the test?  I still look inward when I read this verse.  I want to live a life that pleases the Lord.  I want Him to look down upon me with a smile on His face and proclaim me to be His child.  I don’t want to ever be found wanting and in danger of failing the test of God’s examination.  But, how can we ever be sure that we are not failing the test?

      We can live in confidence that we are pleasing the Lord.  It, of course, all begins at Calvary.  We must turn to Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  We have no chance whatsoever with God unless we do.  We then must be living submissively and obediently to Him.  We accomplish this by taking His Word seriously and spending daily time in it to study it and meditate on it.  We need daily time fellowshipping with God in prayer.  We then need to take our faith with us wherever we go in the world.  We must not ever let ourselves be ashamed of our faith.  We must let our faith shine through us so that others will know we are Christ’s by our love and righteous living.

       I believe there should be a healthy fear of how we stand before God.  Sin is an abomination to God and we should be concerned about whether or not we are harboring it in our hearts.  Can we excuse our sins because we live in grace and not under the law?  Will God shrug His shoulders and overlook sin because we proclaim Jesus as our Savior?  If He could, then He would not be the holy God we profess Him to be.  We should always strive to stay sin free so that we would not be weighed in the balances of God’s holiness and fail the test.

      Are you so transparent that others can readily see Christ in you?  Are you doing your best to live a life that is consistent with your profession of faith?  Are you striving to be the holy person God created you to be in Christ?  If you are, then you are passing the test.  God is well-pleased with you.  Keep it up!  Run the race with your eyes glued on Christ.  Fight the good fight of faith and never slack off.  Great is your reward in heaven, both now and eternally.

IN THE FIRE!

Dan. 3:25  “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted.  “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire.  They aren’t even hurt by the flames!  And the fourth looks like a divine being!” NLT

       I can only imagine what Nebuchadnezzar must have thought when he saw four people walking around in a fire that he had made seven times hotter than normal.  A lot of fearful things must have gripped him.  It just did not happen!  People do not walk around in the middle of any kind of fire without being consumed by it.  Period.  Yet, there they were!  Not only did he see the Hebrews he had thrown into the fire walking around, there was an extra person with them!  Where in the world did He come from?  How is it even possible?  He had to just appear because no one lives in a fiery furnace!  He saw these men walking around unbound, and he had made sure that they were tightly bound before they were cast into the furnace. 

      Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were seemingly just out for a stroll in the flames.  They weren’t being affected by the fire whatsoever!  They apparently were deep in conversation with the other man, oblivious to what was going on around them.  It was a strange sight indeed.  I know that I would have been scared of what I was seeing and more than curious as to how it could be and what it meant.  The king didn’t know it, but God was with them in the furnace.

       Isn’t it comforting to know that we serve a God who knows when we stand up for Him regardless of what others may think or do?  We serve one who cares about the situation we are in and is able to help us through it.  He never leaves us hanging.  He is always with us as we go through our difficult circumstances of life.  He doesn’t promise to change what we are going through, but He does promise to go with us through it. 

       The wonderful thing about it is that when we walk with the Lord through our difficult circumstances of life, things change for us.  Our faith grows stronger, our confidence in God’s love for us grows stronger, our awareness of His ability to help us grows, our ability to let go of our own power lessens, and our gratitude for the God we serve grows.  Adversity is a good thing when you go through it with the Lord at your side. 

GOD WILL SAVE US

Dan. 3:16-18  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us.  He will rescue us from your power.  Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”  NLT

       Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew God well enough to know that for them there was no other God.  They would not bend to the pressure of the king to bow down and worship another god, even if it were to cost them their lives.  They knew what God was capable of.  Would God deliver them?  They didn’t know, but they were willing to trust Him with their lives.  They had gotten to know the Lord well enough to know that they could not put their allegiance anywhere but in Him.  They knew Him well enough to know that He was worth dying for.

       It is imperative that we too get to know the Lord well enough to trust Him with our lives.  We live in a world that has many different understandings of God.  People try to force their understanding on others.  People chide those who stand strong on Biblical principles.  We need to work hard at developing a relationship with God that will keep us anchored in Him regardless of the circumstances we are in.

      When we really know and love the Lord, we do not need to defend ourselves, but we do it don’t we?  We tend to be defensive when things don’t go our way or others don’t see things as we do.  We tend to feel like we have to win in this life. 

      We need to discover that it’s not about us; it’s about the Lord.  We don’t need to fear what others may be able to do or what they think.  We put ourselves in the Lord’s hands and accept whatever may happen.  There is no power on earth that can defeat a soul whose God is the Lord.  Jesus is the way and there is no other way.

     Work hard on your salvation so that you will be able to stand up strong in the faith regardless of whatever circumstance you may find yourself in.  The stronger your faith is, the less fear will grip your soul.  The Lord will be with you to help you always when you are totally committed to Him, even in the face of certain death. 

MAKE UP YOUR MIND

Dan. 1:8 But Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead.  NLT

      Daniel did not wait until the challenge was put before him to make up his mind what he was going to do.  He had predetermined that he would not defile himself by eating the food and drinking the wine of the king.  He had his mind and heart made up that he was going to do what was right before God no matter the circumstances.

      We can spare ourselves a lot of indecision and perhaps wrong decisions by determining in our hearts beforehand that we will do only what we know is right in God’s eyes.  It is a good thing to make a commitment to ourselves that we will not compromise our faith in God.  When we have an attitude of total allegiance to God it keeps us out of a lot of the sin we so easily fall into.

      We can also set an example for others to follow by how we stay true to our faith in challenging times.  Circumstances should never dictate our response.  When others see us do what is godly in all circumstances, they will know that they too can do it. 

       I ask you today, “Have you made up your mind not to defile yourself?”  Are you watching carefully over your soul?  Are you avoiding those situations that could cause you to defile yourself?  Are you determined in your heart that you are going to do only those things which are good for your soul?  If you can’t honestly say that you are doing these things, you need to make a covenant with the Lord today about them and seek His help so you can.

THERE IS HOPE!

Ezek. 37:4-6 Then he said to me, “Speak to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to breathe into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”  NLT

       The message I get from these verses is a message of hope.  We may be dead and lost in sin, but the Lord can breathe into us the breath of life.  All hope of change may be gone, but the Lord can instantly change that.  The Lord is able to give eternal life to anyone who turns to Him for the forgiveness of sin.  No one is beyond the reach of saving grace. 

      Also, there are some of us whose love for the Lord has grown cold.  We may not be totally dead yet, but it seems that way.  We walk around like spiritual zombies.  The zeal for the Lord and caring attitude for others has grown cold.  The desire to read the Bible and pray is almost gone.  There is no longer joy and peace in the soul.  The Lord can breathe into us the breath of life that we might live again.  He can help us to know once again that He is Lord of life.  He can restore us to usefulness in His service.

      The Lord is able to revive the soul of man.  He is able to make the vilest of sinners clean.  He is able to renew the spark in the coldest of hearts.  He longs to breathe into the soul a passion for Him.  He longs for all people to know that He is indeed Lord. 

      Do you know in your heart today that Jesus is Lord?  Are you certain that He is your Lord?  Don’t let sin rob you of the joys of salvation.  Repent and turn to the Lord that you may indeed know that He is your Savior and Lord.